Happy Mother's Day everyone. I had a bit of time, so I thought I'd updated you on the birdy situation and other goings on in the life of moi. First off, the "drabbles" have gone well. The final three that I have I'm not getting inspiration for as readily as the first four, so I'm not sure how quick I'll be able to crank them out. Perhaps I'm over thinking them?

For some reason, writing all these rare pairings has really got me hankering to try Dawn/Angel. I have no idea what I want to write about them. It's unusual for me to feel inspired to do a particular pairing without any notions of plot or purpose beforehand. I'm willing to throw it out there. Anyone have any brilliant ideas?

This week at the gym I totally busted myself up. The reason I've been able to write and post anything at all in the last two weeks is because I've been slacking about exercise. Unfortunately, I can't do both in the evening, so I had to make a choice. This past week I got back on the horse and cashed in my free week membership to Equinox. The end of April was my last Pilates class at CU and they won't be starting summer session until the first week of June. I do just fine exercising on my own, but classes are fun and motivating, so Equinox it was. There's one right across the street from work, so I also cut down on how late I got home since I didn't have to commute as far to get to the gym and then get home. Monday I just spent a lot of time on the elliptical and did core work. If anyone has ever been, it's no secret that Equinox is stupidly expensive. Having been to my gym, NYSC and Equinox, you're not getting much more for your buck except a really nice bathroom and amenities. Gyms all have the same crap; I wasn't impressed.

Tuesday evening I decided to try and kickboxing class. I originally wanted to take that 12 weeks ago, but I got closed out. It was high energy, difficult, but fun. The only downside was our instructor didn't really warm us up, and I paid for it. Right after class I was limping. My calf felt like something had been torn to shreds in it. My lower back muscles, which I used to have problems with before working out and haven't since, were also in a lot of pain. That persisted for the whole week. Very uncomfortable. I was very worried something serious had happened. I seem to be alright today. Hear my sigh of relief. Wednesday I tried beginner yoga and loved it, which I wasn't expecting since Pilates was such a bore to me. I think the key difference is it's about stretching and releasing rather than contracting. You feel sore after Pilates. You feel loose and good after yoga. It's definately something I"d like to try again.

Yesterday I saw Star Trek. Well. It was immensely awesome. Gus and I were both fans of Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager, so we were psyched. I also watched Felicity, Alias and Lost, so I completely back JJ Abrams. Had the utmost confidence that he would knock it out of the park. It didn't hurt that Zachary Qunito played Spock, either. I watched Heroes (until it started to suck!) and always liked Sylar's character. One thing that was fun about the film is I came in knowing Star Trek, but am not particularly familiar with the original TV show canon. I've not seen muchof it; I wasn't even a twinkle in my mama's eyes when it originally aired! So the personalities - Uhura, McCoy, Sulu, Scottie, etc. were a bit foreign to me. I didn't have any concrete preconceived notions about what they should be like and I think that helped. In general, the writing was excellent with a good mixrure of plot and action. This might be one of the best cast fan films to date. Excellent choices all around with some top notch acting. I couldn't have been happier, not to mention the hotness that is Spock/Uhura! Hot damn! That angsty kiss in the elevator? Sign me up. I ship them! I'm even tempted to write fic about them. Anyone know of any good fics that feature them? The movie only came out this week, but there might be some stuff floating out there.

For those of you that don't know, prior to and concurrently with Buffy, I was a huge comics fan. Batman, Daredevil, X-Men, Sandman, Preacher, etc. My first "fandom," though I was never involved in the online community. I lurked mostly as it was prior to my LJ days. Anyway, one series that I was a fan of was an indy title called Strangers in Paradise. It's about two female high school friends and what twists and turns their relationship takes in adulthood, plus another guy. Much love triangle stuff ensues. Great drama. The series ended in 2007 after 15 years running. I stopped reading comics on a monthly basis about 4 years ago and never did purchase the last trade of the series. I was thinking about it the other day, ordered it and finally got to know how everything was wrapped up. Soooo good and satisfying. I feel complete :D

Lastly, some very sad news to report about the birdies. The eggs hatched Monday afternoon, which was so exciting. My mom called me when I was leaving work and shouted, "We have babies!" Sure enough, three squirmy, pink, embrionic chicks were in the nest when I saw them Tuesday morning. By Wednesday morning, they already had peach fuzz on them. Mom and dad were flying back and forth feeding them of which I have footage. However, we were hit with a massive storm on Wednesday evening with driving wind and rain. You saw the fire escape. Not very protected. Thursday morning we went to check on the nest and the birds an babies were gone! I think the parents had to take cover and likely left the chicks, who drowned or died of exposure. They have not been back to the nest since then. We were so sad to see this unfortunate turn of events. I couldn't wait to see them learn to fly. Only two days alive, but those babies gave us so much joy. Here are a few pics and video of them for your enjoyment.

Let me just say major squee to the cross-fanishness we seem to share. I rarely talk about other fandoms on here aside from Buffy, so to have someone respond that has had their foot in numerous other shows, etc. is win!

I'd read your Dawn/Angel. *nods*Sweet. If I could just figure out what I'd like to do with them, I'd get on it. I should consult with only_passenger. She wrote my favorite Angel/Dawn fic Departure. You should check out her journal. She's done a number of Buffy/Faith fics.

You've got me wanting to write Buffy fic. I haven't really wanted to do that in a while... Have you been keeping up with the comic season 8?Hey, if I can spread the love, that's wonderful. As people keep saying, Buffy is a "dying" fandom. We need everyone we can get. As for the comic, I read the first trade and wasn't incredibly impressed. The comics don't hold the same appeal to me as the show did, which is a surprise since I take no issue with the comics medium itself. It somehow doesn't feel as authentic to me. I can't get behind it, though I've read some quality fic that is comics compliant.

From a super Fan's perspective, I thought Star Trek was excellent. There were several WTF moments in plot, for me, but it was easily pushed to the sidelines because the movie was so entertaining.LOL. I was trying to figure out why the Romulan's looked the way they did. As far as I can remember, they never had facial tatoos. No doubt there were some leaps of faith that had to be made when taking alternate universes and paradox into account. I was actually giggeling to myself because the entire movie could have been one big fic AU or, if we're taking comics, an "Elseworld." I think some of the canon flubs or inconsistancies were lost on me. It's tough when you're so immersed in a fandom and know all the details. The first thing you want to do is be critical. That's why I tend to avoid comic movies. They so often butcher the source material (though the recent Watchmen was a pleasant surprise).

And yes, I too now ship me some Spock/Uhura - and I don't often feel any real empathy for het couples. I also have to say I think I might dig some Kirk/McCoy. They had really good chemistry.Woo! I promptly joined spock_uhura this morning and already tore through some great fic. I wish I could write some myself, but I've seen so little of the characters that I have no confidence in being able to channel them. With you on Kirk/McCoy. I'm not much into slash, but there were definately sparks ;)

I wasn't totally sold on the red matter - it felt too much for me like Abrams trying to bring Trek into his own universe.Word. There were a number of times during the alternate universe/time travel stuff that I thought, "Wow, he and Lindelof had some Lost on the brain when working on this."

The end to SiP WAS very satisfying. I might have to reread it. It's been a while.Omg! Someone whose read SiP! Oh, happy day. I should probably reread the whole thing, too. It's been years since I read the first few trades. Terry pulled major bullshit when he did the reboot half way though the series and was like, "Just kidding! Ha ha. All a dream." But he certainly wrapped up loose ends neatly by the end. I was completely shocked by the big reveal concerning Cassey and that she was working for Tambi all along. It was also satsifying for Katchoo to finally get her happy ending. She rivals Buffy in emotional tormoil. I thought the resolution between her and Francine was a bit too easy and quick, but I can't fault the guy for not belaboring the point. The entire series was about dragging out the question "will they? won't they?" after all.

I've absolutely drooled over all the Faith issues, and was pleased with Buffy's foray into lesbianism.Mm, Faith. There certainly is a draw wherever she's concerned. In which trade does her arc appear?

Good God, do not go see Wolverine. It made me want to kill things.So I've heard. The plot (if it has one) sounded like some whack mishmash between Weapon X, Origin, and wtfery. Hugh Jackman makes for a pretty Logan, but that's not enough to draw me in. My fannish cohort (who I saw ST and Watchmen with) saw it opening night and warned me against it himself. And his standards are much lower than mine. I'd be more for a Wolvie movie that did the Japan storyarc. Or even introduced some of the members of Alpha Flight. Though, really, I can't blame the filmakers for the omission. With names like Saschwatch, Vindicator and Puck, you've got to wonder, lol.

I didn't enjoy Watchmen. It was an excellent reproduction of the comics, but I felt it lacked good film-making.It was certainly a flawed film, but I couldn't help but come away feeling very pleased. I have no clue what it must have been like for someone not familiar with the source material though. Very confusing, no doubt. I'll check out your review and throw in more thoughts.

I am going to write a Voyager Torres/Seven fic set in that timelineHm. Interesting. I've never read any Voyager fic. It's been quite a while since I saw the show, too. But that pairing definately has potential. Belanna was quite the little firecracker. And Seven...well, we all know what she was *drools*

I actually saw him at a convention give a talk about it, and I felt much better after that.I always wanted to meet him. A suprememly talented guy. I did the convention scene for 5 years and then lost interest as I drifted away from comics. He was only at one I attended, but the wait was so long, I backed off.

I haven't seen the last four episodes, but yes.It really picks up toward the end. As far as I'm concerned the show didn't really get going until ep6 when it went dark with the rape of Sierra and the reveal about Mille as the sleeper agent. That was insane! It's a derivative show for sure, but the execution and the writing is phenomenal (at least in the second half).

I've a horrible, awful crush on Eliza. Faith, incidentally, is my all-time favorite Buffy character.Me too. I actually think Eliza is one of the weaker actors on Dollhouse, but I have to love her for the years she put into Faith. What an excellent character. I guess it's really Faith I have the big 'ol girl crush on. *points to sidebar* I've written for many times and keep coming back for more. She's a character I can really inhabit.

Soooo... what comics do/did you follow? Back in the day, like 10 years ago, I was so into Nightwing and Birds of Prey fic. Thoroughly enjoyed reading about Dick & Barb and/or Dick & The Titans. That was the only fandom I every really liked the idea of male slash between two main characters (Nightwing/Arsenal). Also shipped Batman/Catwoman and other het couples.

Man, all this talk makes me miss it. *sigh* Nostalgia. I practically lived in the comic shop in high school. I totally dressed up as Hale Jordan-era Green Lantern for halloween one year. Makes me laugh now :) And it was only other guys I had a chance to geek out with. It's wonderful to meet a fellow fangirl.

Gotham Central (OMG, if you haven't read that buy the new trades coming out NOW)I bowed out sometime around Infinite Crisis, so I have no idea what the hell is going on in the DCU or the Bat books. When I was reading, I followed Nightwing, BoP, Detective, Batman, Catwoman, and Gotham Knights. Probably forgettig something. I think I'd be pretty clueless if I tried jumping back in. Hush was the last big storyarc I can remember very clearly.

Sign me up for some Dawn/Angel! I'd so read a story about them.Any suggestions for plot or timing? I'm drawing a blank. Post-NFA seems the obvious choice, but I have no idea why they'd meet, what they'd do, etc.

To bad about the birds, though... There is nature for youAye. She's a cold bitch, she is. I'm so glad I took the photos while I could. They make me smile :D